I will always remember my Grandmother’s Kodak Brownie…
My introduction into photography started when I was a young boy. My Grandmother was always taking pictures with her Kodak Brownie, especially while on vacation on LBI – Long Beach Island, Beach Haven, NJ. I used that camera constantly and had no luck making anything work. It wasn’t until, at the age of 24 when my best friend Dave handed me a Minolta SRT 101 and asked me to take pictures and document our flight/trip to Mountain Home, Arkansas. This is the how & where I caught the photography bug. I had no idea how anything worked. All those dials, buttons, lenses and other stuff was all very confusing. I persevered and soon learned how the camera worked. I also learned that knowing how to operated the camera was just the first step. It takes many years of practice & education to make a professional photograph. This little taste of history into cameras and the image making process became the catalyst of becoming a professional photographer. From that point my only focus was to become a professional photographer’s assistant in New York City. I left my secure 9 to 5 job to be a freelance assistant photographer for a large fashion catalog house in New York City. I knew I made the right decision when on my first day I was introduced to one of the most famous models in the world at the time, Iman … now the widow of David Bowie.
This training is what laid the groundwork for my solid technical education and perseverance to acquire the best images possible. Years later I worked with one of the most respected editorial fashion photographers of the 1970-80s, Eric Boman. It is here I learned that photography is not just numbers and formulas, but feelings and emotions. Learning to recognize good light and being at the ready to capture that fleeting moment of time is now part of my everyday life.
Since the age of 24, I have made my career with photography. Every dollar I’ve earned has come from my eye pressed against the back of a camera. I never focused my energies on winning awards and getting accolades. My mission has been and still is to satisfy generations of clients, translating their abstract visions into images that firstly are beautiful and secondly, feed their emotions. In my early days, these were recorded on film and today, which adds a breath of fresh air, the world of digital photography. I have worked for department store retailers for most of my career, both nationally and internationally. My visions as a photographer has rewarded me with traveling opportunities to many parts of the United States as well as Europe, Mexico, the Caribbean and Australia.
My specialty now is wedding photography. I cover all aspects of the Wedding Photography business from sales through final album sign-offs. Nothing brings a smile to my face more than feedback from a couple thanking me for photographing their wedding – a part of their life they will never forget. Additional genres of photography I engage in includes documenting family events such as anniversaries, birthdays, Christenings, Mitzvahs & Sweet Sixteens. As well as commercial and corporate photography. I have lived in northern New Jersey all my life. Along with photography, I am a passionate fan of most sports, an aviation enthusiast and pilot of those scary small planes. On summer mornings I love to road bike the quiet roads of NJ…as long as it’s flat.
